Responsible conflict reporting: Rethinking the role of journalism in Fiji and other troubled Pacific societies

Abstract

This article moots the idea of ‘responsible conflict reporting’ in Fiji and the South Pacific. Prolonged conflict, including three coups since 1987, has resulted in a pattern of social and economic decline in Fiji. In Melanesia as a whole, internal conflict is seen as a major security threat. The proposed responsible conflict reporting framework can be seen as a response to these longstanding trends and concerns. The framework is informed by various concepts in conflict resolution, peace-building, peace journalism and development journalism. By fusing the appropriate themes from these related but disparate frameworks, responsible conflict reporting goes beyond typical media interventions that focus mostly on current ‘hot conflicts’ without adequately addressing their long-term, structural causes.